Is there a relationship between preoperative cytological diagnosis and evolution in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma? A retrospective study.

Objective: Cytological analysis and Bethesda classification of thyroid nodules is the standard method of diagnosing differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). However, even for nodules with a non-malignant cytological diagnosis, there is a not insignificant risk of cancer. There are doubts whether this lack of certainty would influence patient prognosis. Our aim was to compare patients with DTC, classified according to the preoperative cytological diagnosis, regarding their evolution. Methods: A retrospective study was carried out with 108 DTC patients submitted to total thyroidectomy (TT) between 2009 and 2015, divided into three groups according to preoperative cytological diagnosis (Bethesda classification): classes I/II, III/IV, and V/VI. Groups were compared for evolution considering response to treatment at last evaluation as well as time disease free. Statistical analysis used ANOVA, chi squared, and Kaplan-Meier curves with p<0.05 considered significant. Results: Groups differed for time between nodule puncture and TT [in months; V/VI (2.35 ± 2.48) < III/IV (7.32 ± 6.34) < I/II (13.36 ± 8.9); p < 0.0001]. There was no significant difference between groups for evolution at final evaluation (disease free status; classes I/II: 71.4%; classes III/IV: 60%; classes V/VI: 66.6%; p = 0.7433), as well as time disease free (in months; classes I/II: 34.57 ± 25.82; classes III/IV: 38.04 ± 26.66; classes V/VI: 30.84 ± 26.34; p = 0.3841). Conclusion: DTC patients classified according to preoperative cytological diagnosis did not differ for evolution. Although patients with non-malignant cytological diagnoses were submitted to TT later, this did not affect the evolution of the cases.

Follicular Lesions with Papillary Nuclear Characteristics: Differences in Chromatin Detected by Computerized Image Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Follicular lesions of the thyroid with papillary carcinoma nuclear characteristics are classified as infiltrative follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma-FVPTC (IFVPTC), encapsulated/well demarcated FVPTC with tumour capsular invasion (IEFVPTC), and the newly described category "non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features" (NIFTP) formerly known as non-invasive encapsulated FVPTC. This study evaluated whether computerized image analysis can detect nuclear differences between these three tumour subtypes. METHODS: Slides with histological material from 15 cases of NIFTP and 33 cases of FVPTC subtypes (22 IEFVPTC, and 11 IFVPTC) were analyzed using the Image J image processing program. Tumour cells were compared for both nuclear morphometry and chromatin textural characteristics. RESULTS: Nuclei from NIFTP and IFVPTC tumours differed in terms of chromatin textural features (grey intensity): mean (92.37 ± 21.01 vs 72.99 ± 14.73, p = 0.02), median (84.93 ± 21.17 vs 65.18 ± 17.08, p = 0.02), standard deviation (47.77 ± 9.55 vs 39.39 ± 7.18; p = 0.02), and coefficient of variation of standard deviation (19.96 ± 4.01 vs 24.75 ± 3.31; p = 0.003). No differences were found in relation to IEFVPTC. CONCLUSION: Computerized image analysis revealed differences in nuclear texture between NIFTP and IFVPTC, but not for IEFVPTC.

Thyroglobulin levels and thyroglobulin/thyrotropin ratio could predict the success of the ablative/therapeutic 131I in the differentiated thyroid cancers.

BACKGROUND: Stimulated thyroglobulin (STg) levels in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinomas (DTCs) after total thyroidectomy (TT) and before radioactive iodine (131I) ablation/therapy (RIT) are predictive of therapeutic success but can be influenced by the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level. OBJECTIVES: This study compared the reliability of the STg/TSH ratio and STg measurement in predicting the success of RIT. METHODS: Sixty-three DTC patients submitted to TT were assessed retrospectively to compare the ability of STg level and the STg/TSH ratio to predict successful RIT. RESULTS: In this study 48 (76.2%) patients had successful RIT. The successful and unsuccessful groups received different 131I doses and had different STg levels and STg/TSH ratios. The STg and STg/TSH ratio cutoff values that predicted successful RIT were 4.41 ng/mL (sensitivity of 86.7% and specificity of 77%) and 0.093 (sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 79.2%), respectively. Age, STg level, STg/TSH ratio, and 131I dose were associated with successful RIT, but after multivariate analysis only STg remained associated (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our data suggest that the STg/TSH ratio and measurement of STg are equally reliable in predicting successful RIT in DTC patients.